Screw-driver.



l. D. SHAY.

SCREW DRIVER.

APPLICATION man JULY 25, 1915.

Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

Qwuentoz EA 1). SHAY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

SCREW-DRIVER.

1,239,1l3ll.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, Wilt.

Application filed-July 25, 1916. 'Serial No. 111,259.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA D. SHAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore clty, in the State of Maryland, have invented a certain new and useful Improve ment in Screw-Drivers, of which the followmg is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide a screw-driver having a plurality of points or'blades arranged longitudinally and transversely of the shank, so that screws so located that they are inaccessible to any one or more of the points or blades may be reached by one or more of the others of them and be driven or drawn readily; and a further object of the invention is to provide a screw-driver that may be used to act upon screws used in those restricted places wheire ordinarily only bolts are commonly use The invention consists of a screw-driver having a point or blade arranged in line with its longitudinal axis, and laterally extending points or blades arranged near the first-named point or blade and so disposed as to be capable of use successively for turning a serene while operating in an arc of not over forty-five degrees, these last-mentionedpoints or blades being herein referred to as lateral blades and the first-mentioned point or blade as the longitudinal blade for convenience; the lateral blades being dis posed circumferentially around the shank, one in" the direction of its length, another transversely thereto, and the others alternating between the first two and lying in inclmed planes and opposite one another so that one blade moved to its limit will leave the screw nick in position to be engaged by the next succeeding blade when the screwdriver is moved into the starting position of its arc of movement from which it was last previously moved, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is an elevation with the intermediate portion of the shank broken out.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the point or blade end of the screw-driver, looking down on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation, looking toward the right, Fig. 2.- Fig. 4 represents a screw located in a place inaccessible to the end blade of the screw-driver but accessible by means of one of the lateral blades, said figure showing the screw-driver in dotted lines, and Fig. 5 represents an eighth turn that may be made within the restricted lim t. Fig. 6 illustrates the screw-driver havlng another one of its blades applied to the screw in the position at which it was left in Fig. 5 and capable of being advanced another eighth turn as shown in Fig. 7. F1g. 8 represents the screw as left in Fig. 7 and with another blade of the screw-driver applied to it so that it may be further advanced an eighth turn to the position shown in Fig. 9.. Fig. 10 represents the screw\ as left in Fig. 9 and having: still another blade of the screw-driver applied to it whereby the screw may be given another eighth turn as indicated in Fig. 11. Fig. 12-is a side elevation illustrating the facility with which my improved screw-driver may be used in connection with countersunk screws.

The shank 1 may be made or supplied with a handle 2 or formed at the handleend in any suitable way. Its point end terminates in a point or blade 8 arranged in line with the longitudinal axis of the screwdriver and adapted to engage a screw in any ordinary Way. Arranged around the point of the shank at or near the point or blade 3 and extending laterallyfrom the shank are the blades 4, 5, 6 and 7, the blade 4 be- .ing arranged at right angles to the width ofthe blade '3 and running in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the screw-driver; the blade 5 being arranged obliquely to the shank; the blade o being arranged transversely of the shank and at right angles to the blade 4; and the blade 7 likewise being arranged obliquely to the axis of the shank. These blades 4, 5, 6 and 7 are capable of use when the screw-driver is presented horizontally or substantially so, and they are so arranged on the shank and disposed with relation to one another and the shank, that the screw-driver may be used to drive and to draw-screws located in otherwise inaccessible places or places accessible only with difliculty. For example, as illustrated in Figs. 4 to 11, supposea screw be so placed that it is absolutely inaccessible to the blade 3 and is only accessible to one or more of the lateral blades, and furthermore, that a movement ofthe screw is only possible between the point 8, Fig. 4, and the point 9, Fig. 5. Should the nick in the screw be arranged as in Fig. 4, then it may be engaged by the straight blade 4 and the screw-driver then turned from the point 8 to the point 9,

as shown in Fig. 5, whereby the screw will the screw-driver will be disengaged and turnedover and its transverse blade 6 engaged with the screw under the same conditions, as in Fig. 8, and turned again to give the screw another advance of forty-five degrees, as shown in Fig. 9, and then the screw-driver will be disengaged from the screw and turned over so that the screw will be engaged by the blade 7, as shown in Fig. 10, and then the screw-driver again moved from 8 to 9 so as to complete the half revolution of the screw, as shown in Fig. 11; and these movements may be repeated until the proper adjustment of the screw is ob-. tained.

As shown in Fig. 12, countersunk screws may be conveniently engaged by the lateral blades.

Illustrations 4 to 12 show how available the screw-driver is for reaching difficult or ordinarily inaccessible places, and therefore it is possible to use screws in such places where heretofore .bolts only have been capable of use.

I am aware that prior to-my invention, screw-drivers have been made with a number of points or blades disposed in various relations both longitudinally and transversely, and hence do not herein claim the broad idea of a screw-driver thus constructed, but I am not aware of a prior instance of a screw-driver containing at one and the same end a series of blades so disnot only in accessible but in otherwise. inaccessible places, as herein shown and described.

What I claim is 1. A screw-driver, having its shank provided with laterally projecting screw-engaging blades, one of them extending longitudinally, the next adjacent obliquely, the next adjacent transversely and the next adjacent obliquely, with relation to the shank, and succeeding one another circumferentially around the shank, whereby when turned around one by one they will be in position for successive engagement with the screw as it was left .by the limit of action of the last preceding blade.

2. A screw-driver, comprising a shank having a series of laterally extended blades arranged circumferentially around the shank, one of the said blades running lengthwise of the shank, the opposite blade crosswise thereof, and the alternate blades obliquely thereto, whereby when the shank is arranged at right angles to the axis of a screw to be turned the said several blades may be successively used one after another to turn the screw one-half turn within a forty-five degree are of movement of the screw-driver.

3. As an improved article of manufacture, a screwdriver having a blade arranged in line with its axis, and a series of lateral blades arranged circumferentially around the shank adjacent to its longitudinal blade, one of these lateral blades being arranged lengthwise of the shank, another obliquely thereon, another transversely thereof and another obliquely thereto, said lateral blades adapted for successive use in the order named to progressively turn a screw.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of July, A. D. 1916.

IRA D. SHAY. Witnesses:

H. E. Conner, S. A. MCOOLLAM. 

